Iowa State basketball vs. Cincinnati prediction: 3 things to watch for Cyclones

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After basking in some Florida sun and enjoying a road win over UCF, Iowa State men’s basketball is returning home and gearing up for its next opponent.

The Cyclones (19-5, 9-4 Big 12 Conference) will host Cincinnati on Saturday in their lone meeting of the season.

Iowa State followed up on its 30-point win at home last month with a 77-65 road win Tuesday to complete the regular-season sweep of the Knights.

Now, the Cyclones host a Bearcats (15-9, 5-8) team coming in with some momentum and a three-game win streak. The Bearcats defeated Utah, 85-75, in their most recent outing on Wednesday.

Saturday’s game is scheduled to tip off at 3 p.m. CT. It will also be available on ESPN2 for those who can’t make it to Hilton Coliseum.

Here are three things to watch when the Cyclones take on the Bearcats:

Cincinnati is on an upswing after a rough start to conference play

The expectations were once high for the Bearcats at the start of the season. They were ranked in the top 25 in the preseason, and they peaked as high as No. 14 in early December.

Their lone blemish in non-conference play was on the road at Villanova, as part of the Big 12/Big East Battle. Once conference play began, they quickly fell out of the top 25 and had a disappointing start to league competition, losing eight of their first 10 conference games.

The Bearcats appear to be gaining some traction and trending in a positive direction now, though. They broke a four-game losing streak with a 93-83 win over UCF earlier this month. They followed up with double-digit wins against BYU and Utah, avenging losses from last month. It is also the first time that Cincinnati has won three straight against conference opponents since joining the Big 12 last year.

One major catalyst behind the Bearcats’ winning stretch has been on the scoring end. They’re averaging 87.3 points over the three-game winning streak.

More: Hines: Otzelberger has something to say and a message to deliver for Iowa State basketball

Before that, during its eight…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/iowa-state-basketball-vs-cincinnati-224011063.html

Author : The Des Moines Register

Publish date : 2025-02-13 22:40:00

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